LOL, church under pressure for inviting controversial pastor to OZschwitz conference

Hillsong Church is copping an almighty backlash for welcoming a shamed US pastor, who railed against "penis-envying burned feministed [sic] single mothers", to its Australian conference, ABC's Lateline reports

The "Mega-church" pastor Mark Driscoll was shunned by his own Seattle congregation, Mars Hills Church, in October last year after an internal review found he was "guilty of pride", as well as abusive, controlling and manipulative behaviour.

Driscoll was also accused of misusing tithes - funds bequeathed by church members that amounted to 10 per cent of their annual income. Mars Hill Church crumbled under the weight of the scandal and by November the church had collapsed.

But the disgraced pastor who once referred to women as "penis-houses" and bemoaned the US as a "pussified nation" has been invited by Hillsong Australia to appear on the main stage at its national conference in Sydney this month.

Mr Driscoll made the comments under a pseudonym in an online forum in 2000 and has since apologised, according to ABC's Lateline.

But an online petition protesting Driscoll's involvement at the Australian conference, and its European equivalent, had garnered more than 1000 signatures as of Friday night.

The Sydney conference held at Allphones arena in Homebush is expected to host 10,000 attendees.

Natalie Collins, author of the change.org petition, said Mr Driscoll has continued to proselytise his demeaning views of women, homosexual and non-conforming people.

Ms Collins, a Hillsong member in the UK, argues Mr Driscoll's comments are tantamount to hate speech and should be condemned by the Hillsong congregation.

"By inviting Mark Driscoll to speak on the Hillsong platform, Hillsong are both endorsing and legitimising Mark's messages," Ms Collins wrote on the change.org page.

In one infamous oration, Mr Driscoll preached that women were created to house a man's penis.

"Ultimately, God created you and it is His penis. You are simply borrowing it for a while," he said.

"Knowing that His penis would need a home, God created a woman to be your wife. And when you marry her and look down you will notice that your wife is shaped differently than you and makes a very nice home."

Driscoll has also decried the US as a "pussified nation", where men were being reared by "bitter penis-envying burned feministed [sic] single mothers".

During a sermon known as the "Testosterone Gospel", Mr Driscoll conjured an image of a enraged Jesus Christ who criticised modern men for being "wusses" and instructed women to serve men.

Appearing on ABC's Lateline on Thursday night, Hillsong's lead pastor Joel A'bell said the Church wanted to learn from Mr Driscoll's "life lessons" and mistakes.

Brian Houston, Hillsong's founder, stressed that Mr Driscoll had been invited along before he resigned from Mars Hill Church, and would not be giving a lecture.

"Rather than having Mark preach or teach, I am excited about interviewing Mark and his wife, Grace, from our main platform during our Hillsong Conference 2015," he wrote in a statement released in March.

"Mark has been candid about mistakes he has made, and if we can, through our conference, help others through his life experiences, we think that will prove valuable."